The deal was enough to get them under the luxury-tax threshold, saving them $12 million in total—this season. But that deal was not enough to clear the team of its long-term payroll problem, which boils down to an inability to go through with the contracts of Rudy Gay, Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol without climbing into tax territory.

For that reason, the Gay rumors have not died. And they won’t, not until late June, by which time Memphis is almost certain to have moved Gay.

“It was a good move for them because they have better leverage now,” one general manager told SN. “The perception was they were desperate not to pay the tax. The only offers you’re going to get like that are lowballs, or you try to get Zach Randolph. Now that they’re not paying the tax, their situation looks less desperate.”

The only question is whether the Grizzlies will find a suitable deal before the Feb. 21 trading deadline, or wait until draft night in late June.

One source says there is nothing to the notion that Gay would wind up with the Boston Celtics or Los Angeles Lakers, as neither can offer the Grizzlies the expiring contract they need. The Toronto Raptors, another potential destination for Gay, have the same problem. The Charlotte Bobcats, who are seeking a star and a franchise cornerstone, would do well to bring in Gay, but they’d either have to trade rookie Michael Kidd-Gilchrist or commit to playing Gay at power forward with Kidd-Gilchrist, and both notions are a stretch.

It remains more likely the Grizzlies take the patient approach now that they’ve alleviated the immediate tax threat—there is no hurry to make a deal, especially in light of the poor offers they’ve gotten so far.

But Gay is very much still on the market, the Grizzlies still eager to break up their three weighty contracts in order to dodge future tax bills.

The other big rumor

They’ve managed back-to-back wins and will go for three straight Tuesday night against the New Orleans Hornets, so who knows, maybe things are just peachy with the Lakers now. But that shouldn’t mean they are a drama-free bunch.

Off-the-bench big man Pau Gasol has played two great games in those wins, following up 15 points on 7-for-8 shooting on Friday with 17 points on 7-for-10 shooting on Sunday.

But Gasol, who has repeatedly butted heads with coach Mike D’Antoni, and is having to cope with his demotion to the bench, said this to the Spanish website ACB.com: “I don’t know if we are playing D’Antoni’s system much right now; we are kind of running our own system a bit, with a slower pace, putting the ball in Kobe Bryant’s hands a lot, setting picks from the low post and distributing the ball from there very well. We’ll see if we can continue like this.”

Of all the many players who will have their names wrung through the rumor mill between now and Feb. 21, Gasol’s remains at the top of the list.

The below-the-fold rumor

The Celtics have not had much time to digest the loss of point guard Rajon Rondo to an ACL injury, as was announced Sunday. Boston coach Doc Rivers said he didn’t know if there were plans to look at potential replacements for Rondo, but he did think he had enough on his roster as it stands to get his team back in the race.

That’s not to say the Celtics aren’t eager to address their roster shortcomings. But it is safe to say that they still consider their biggest weak spot to be in the frontcourt, where Brandon Bass has struggled all year and was moved to the bench Sunday in favor of rookie Jared Sullinger.

This should be a rumor (but isn’t)

Were the Celtics to trade Pierce, wouldn’t the most suitable destination be back to his hometown of Los Angeles? Of course, but there is no way a lifelong Celtic like Pierce could don the purple-and-gold of the Lakers. We’re talking Los Angeles Clippers.

The one position at which the Clippers could use an upgrade is small forward. Caron Butler is the starter, Matt Barnes plays the most productive minutes and Grant Hill is just coming back from a knee injury.

The Clippers have a logjam on the bench that could be cleared out with a multiplayer swap, and no swap would do more to push the Clippers higher on the list of contenders while also boosting their popularity in LA than bringing a local guy home.

Of course, it is a sticky proposition. The best building-block piece the Clippers have on their bench is Eric Bledsoe, and he would have to be part of a deal for Pierce. The Clippers love Bledsoe and, remember, would not part with him in the Chris Paul deal with New Orleans.

The Celtics would want cap relief, and could get it by taking Lamar Odom’s expiring contract in the deal, clearing $8.2 million off the books. Boston would also have to take Butler (who has an $8 million player option next year) to make the deal work. The Clippers would add a draft pick.

The Celtics would be trading Pierce—one of the franchise’s greats—for, essentially, Bledsoe and a very low draft pick, which would somehow not feel right for Boston fans.

On the other side, Clippers fans wouldn’t be happy about losing Bledsoe, and the franchise knows he remains their backstop in case Chris Paul doesn’t re-sign as a free agent.

But if the Celtics are going to make a move with Pierce, sending him back home is probably the only way Danny Ainge could pull the trigger on something that would not embitter Pierce. Just a thought.